Good news for all South African rugby fans who have been gagging for live action for 12 weeks now.

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It has been confirmed to Sport24 that SuperSport will broadcast the upcoming new-look New Zealand Aotearoa tournament which gets under way on Saturday, 13 June.

That's just FIVE more sleeps ... although you may need to set an alarm - and will require a DStv decoder.

The last Super Rugby match played - the Brumbies' 47-14 thumping of the Waratahs - took place on 15 March.

Almost three months later, New Zealand will be the first southern hemisphere country to get back to competitive action with their five teams scheduled to play each other home-and-away over 10 weeks.

Two matches will be played each weekend - one on each of Saturday and Sunday - giving a total of 20 matches to look forward to.

SuperSport, who enjoy an excellent relationship with their counterparts in New Zealand, Sky Sport NZ, will screen the weekly Saturday 09:05 (SA time) match and Sunday 05:35 (SA time) clash.

NOTE: The kick-off times have changed after it was confirmed on Monday that spectators would be allowed to watch the matches LIVE as New Zealand moved a step closer to being Covid-19 free.

In week 1, the Highlanders will host the Chiefs in Dunedin on the Saturday, while the Blues will welcome the Hurricanes to Eden Park in Auckland on the Sunday.

The Crusaders, who led the New Zealand Conference when Super Rugby was halted, have a bye.

- Compiled by Garrin Lambley